Pay Your People (the right ones anyway)

I had a discussion about paying an employee more money.

The GM's first reaction was NO! Push for more work from the employee and then give him the money later. I don't understand why it's hard to see that constant recruiting is our biggest challenge. Take care of your good people so you're not replacing them every six months.

The good thing about this GM is he makes me have to think about how I can convince him of the value in paying a good employee more. So we took the $1 per hour raise x 36 hours per week that this employee would get and calculated how much our weekly labor would be affected. It came to a grand total of 2/10'ths of a percent!

Why risk alienating a good employee for that amount? The potential repercussions of not giving a raise are:

• Lower morale
• Negative behavior
• Less output and attention to job

And the worst case scenario is the good employee leaves! Even worse, the good employee leaves and is replaced with a less-talented employee who then demands more money and you are backed into a corner. So I told him to trim the money from less productive employees schedules. This could include bringing in several different employees 30 minutes later than normal or even taking one shift away from a less productive employee. You have then taken care of a good employee and reduced the negative impact from a not-so-good employee.

Leaders in the restaurant industry contstantly cry about labor challenges we face. Time for a reality check: WE CREATE OUR OWN CHALLENGES OFTEN!

Pay your people (the right ones anyway)!

Two Sides of the Coin

Just read an article on SF Gate (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/12/MN1DSNR7D.DTL&hw=chef+low+pay&sn=001&sc=1000) that exemplifies the challenges of our industry. We (management) constantly bemoan how hard it is to find "good" people yet we offer very little in terms of incentives to stay in this industry. When is the last time you read a help-wanted listing on craiglist that stated:

Wanted: someone to work 25-30 hours a week for pay that won't even cover your rent and bills. We know this amount of hours isn't enough for you but I have labor goals that I have to meet. Candidate must have a second job to survive but the job can't interfere with any of your shifts at our restaurant. In fact, I may need you to tell your other job to "F" off from time to time when somebody doesn't show here or quits without notice. We don't offer benefits, paid time off, or holidays (except for Thanksgiving and Christmas and you will probably be working the day before and after these holidays). By the way, you will be expected to know our menu inside and out but we won't provide you much in the way of training tools; it's all on you baby. There is a good chance you will be working with several slackers and cynical teammates but I can't get rid of them because I need bodies. If you don't have much experience, I'm probably not gonna hire you because I don't have the time or inclination to train you. And don't come in during the lunch and dinner rush because I won't even talk to you.

Hmm, I wonder why we can't find good candidates. We need to take a serious look at how we treat our employees in this industry and maybe the good ones will be attracted and stay longer.

Now for the other side of the coin. A quote from chef Brian Clevenger states:

"The little money I make goes to rent to a place I don't even like."

Wow! Welcome to life, most people don't get to live in an apartment or house they actually like until they have moved up in their careers. It's called sacrifice. Far too many kids watch Top Chef or the Food Network and think "I can do that" and drop $25k at the Culinary Academy with expectations that are completely false.

We need to realize our industry is a trade and a craft. Nobody starts off at the top in any trade. Construction workers start off hauling supplies and other grunt duties until they prove their work ethic and have learned a few things. Doctors work crappy hours in crappy ER rooms until they have learned a few things. Why is it surprising that you have to do the same in a restaurant? In fact, how many people actually start off at the top in any industry whether it's a trade or not?

Do what you can to change this industry. It will help all of us in the long run. Time for my break (what's that?).

What philosophy do you run your unit with?

Sounds crazy, but I think you should have a philosophy when running a restaurant. Are you a systematic leader? Inspirational coach? A Driver (push, push, push)? Or is it all about the numbers?

I've had the fortune (!) of working for several concepts that were in a start-up or growth phase and the environments are very similar in many ways. Change; chaos; confusion; thinking you were going to be slow on a shift and getting slammed; preparing to get slammed on a Friday and cutting half the crew at 7:45. I think it's important to stick to your philosophy during these times.

I have seen teams focus on many things but many people look at me like I'm crazy when I say make the system as easy as possible for the crew and it will all work out. Don't listen to the software tech installing your POS system, when was the last time he was face to face with a customer in a line 12-deep? If modifying an item takes more than three steps, it isn't working. It confuses your front of house crew and the back of house crew going to have a hell of a time figuring out the modifier. And it's 50-50 the item will actually come out right. Don't create a system that makes it easier on accounting or reporting. You won't have much to account for or report on if your front line people are struggling.

Swallow your pride and walk up to your boldest front line person and ask:

What is the stupidest thing you had to do today?

If you went to the right person, they will tell you. Then fix it fast. Make the system easy on your front line people, the ones that interface with your customer. You will have more time to focus on the many challenges that you have to face anyway.